Second man charged in 2014 shooting death of Platte County man

Authorities have charged a second man in the November 2014 shooting death of a Platte County man.

Kevin Joseph Hardin, 30, of Kansas City, Kan., faces second-degree murder charges in the slaying of Francisco Vargas III, 27. A relative found Vargas inside his residence in the 6600 block of Twin Springs Road, just north of Parkville off Missouri 9.

Hardin is being held on a $500,000 cash bond.

Prosecutors charged Zakary F. Mergy with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection to the shooting. Mergy remains in the Platte County Detention Center, awaiting trial.

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said at the time he filed criminal charges against Mergy that other criminal charges might be filed as part of an ongoing investigation.

According to court records, Vargas had sold drugs, primarily marijuana, from the house.

A neighbor reported seeing a gray car at Vargas’ residence on the day of the shooting. It was later determined that a 2008 gray Dodge Charger reportedly seen at the house was registered to a relative of Mergy’s.

Investigators were able to determine cellphones belonging to Hardin and Mergy had been in the immediate proximity of Vargas’ house around the time of the shooting.

Mergy allegedly later told investigators that Hardin admitted shooting Vargas. Hardin allegedly told Mergy, “It was what I felt I had to do.”

Hardin asked Mergy to help him get rid of the handgun used in the shooting, according to court records.

Detectives later recovered the handgun from the backyard of a residence in the 2100 block of South 18th Street in Kansas City, Kan. The cartridge cases and bullets recovered from the crime scene came from that gun.

DNA test results on the gun revealed a match to Mergy and Hardin, according to court records.

This story was originally published August 14, 2017 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Second man charged in 2014 shooting death of Platte County man."